young noni above.. your english sucks. Sure hope Galvin didn't english you. Check out Babauta's past record, it's all out there if one cares to make the effort. You back this man? Why, promise of a gov job? I always put hope in the young generation. You young sir, are on the wrong track. So here we go again....."re-cycled uselessness"

Near the end of her two-year presidency at the Northern Marianas College, Dr. Carmen Fernandez's popularity seems to be on shaky ground as a number of faculty and employees have expressed problems adjusting to her management style, with some even questioning her decision-making. This has led to a rumored signature drive to oust her even as the CNMI's lone tertiary institution continues to be on show-cause status by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Given the twin burdens, however, of resolving accreditation deficiencies and a budget that's significantly lower than before, Fernandez said she was forced to make some extremely difficult decisions-decisions that may be at the root of the recent grumblings at the college. She pointed out, though, that the college has many channels and means through which anybody may share their views on matters and decisions affecting NMC.

Not everybody is against her, though. Some staff who spoke with the Saipan Tribune expressed their support for Fernandez, saying she is doing the best she can with the resources she has at her disposal. That hasn't stopped others from coming forward to relay their increasing dissatisfaction with Fernandez, saying that her “lack of transparency” and “insufficient respect” toward staff contribute to the declining morale at the college.

An instructional staff said Fernandez's hiring practice has become a magnet of criticism. The staff cited the exit of a number of employees whom they believe were not given “another chance” or proper due process. This list includes ex-NMC employees Howard Cole, Danny Wyatt, Pat Taylor, and Daisy Villagomez-Bier.

The staff said that some questions were also raised on the “capabilities” of some “political hires” at the college as well as the unusual termination spree enacted by Fernandez.

A check with Frank Sobolewski, NMC faculty president and chairman of the college's Social Sciences and Finance departments, confirmed these sentiments.

“Yes, there's a general feeling of fear among them. It is because they believe that when they say things the president doesn't like, there will be some sort of retaliation, perhaps some non-renewal of contracts.which many believe has happened and has been happening,” he told Saipan Tribune.

He cited as example the termination in November 2007 of Cole, a Tinian instructor, when he disclosed the decision to shut down the academic programs on Rota and Tinian.

“That's one instance-the on-the-spot termination of the Tinian instructor in the middle of the semester with no guarantee that there would be qualified instructors to continue those classes,” he said.

Sobolewski believes that, if a survey is conducted today among faculty members, the dissatisfaction level would be high.

He conceded that the college's fast turnover rate of instructors began in previous leaderships but this practice continued through the current management. “It seems like in this decade, NMC is a very popular place to leave voluntarily or otherwise,” he said.

He added that the most important cultural value of indigenous people is respect. “And this respect is inadequate here at NMC,” he said.

Saipan Tribune heard yesterday about a campaign to oust the NMC president via a signature drive but Sobolewski, who also serves as Faculty Senate president, said he is not aware of it.

“I am not aware of any petition drive at this time.but I can admit that there is a feeling of dissatisfaction of her leadership,” he said.

Sobolewski admitted that he is in favor of an “indefinite contract” for instructional staff at NMC. However, faculty members have agreed to push for this after first addressing the college's accreditation problems.

“The general agreement is to push it after the accreditation because we're not in favor of any distraction on the accreditation work being prepared by the institution,” he said.

NMC instructors are given two-year contracts, which could be terminated with or without cause.

“That contract would be basically like what we have.but with no expiration date,” he said.

A similar request died with previous college administrations.

Sobolewski's term is up until the end of this semester.

Fernandez defends herself

Fernandez yesterday addressed the issues about her unpopularity, saying the institution is governed by policies and procedures that she strictly adheres to.

When asked to comment about employees' fear of expressing their views, she said: “As an institution of higher learning, the staff and faculty are welcome to freely express their views about various issues. We have never terminated anyone because they expressed their opinion. I maintain an open-door policy to all employees so they can approach me directly.”

Additionally, Fernandez said faculty and staff members at the college also have many outlets where they can share their views on important matters and decisions that are considered.

These include the College Council, the Budget and Finance Committee, and other governance groups. Staff and faculty members also have representatives that sit as honorary members on the Board of Regents. They also have their supervisors and managers if they want to air some concerns.

On the indefinite contracts for faculty, she said the issue is under consideration and undergoing due diligent review. It will be considered by the shared governance structure of NMC once it is ready for that process.

“Given the monumental tasks of resolving accreditation deficiencies that date back to 2000 and working with a significantly reduced budget, we have had to make some extremely difficult decisions in the past few months to ensure that we continue to offer high quality programs and services to our students,” she said, adding that some of those decisions may have been unfavorably received by some faculty members or employees; nonetheless they needed to be made.

Despite these issues, she said their resolve in meeting accreditation requirements remains strong and “reaffirming the college's accreditation will be my administration's focus in the weeks ahead.”

Vote of confidence

As what other institutions practice in determining the effectiveness of their leaders, a vote of confidence among staff and employees is being prepared for recommendation to the college's board and leadership.

“The idea is to know whether the leader still has the vote of confidence of her/his peers which is very important in the success of a leadership or organization,” an instructional staff said.

Meantime, Paz Calvo, a nursing instructor who has been with the college for about a year, said she support the NMC president, especially in this time of accreditation problems.

“For me, she's doing a great job especially in trying to find good instructors for students,” she told Saipan Tribune.

An instructor who has been with the college for a year said: “Based on my opinion and experience here at NMC, the president's leadership is doing a good job of finding all possible ways to address concerns.”